Needing Help Finding A Quilt Pattern
12-07-2019, 02:16 PM
#41
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,407
As Ice Blossom has illustrated, one can play with the flying geese units to get some different effects.
A design wall/board would be helpful in laying this out so it ends up being assembled the way one was intending.
A design wall/board would be helpful in laying this out so it ends up being assembled the way one was intending.
Last edited by bearisgray; 12-07-2019 at 02:22 PM.
12-08-2019, 07:16 AM
#42
Super Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Sunny Florida
Posts: 4,422
Boy, this one sure has been a puzzle.
I see what you mean about the difference in the contrast with the two designs. I put the two layouts together for comparison. I agree that this one is all about the contrast levels. Thank you for sharing the journey so we can watch the process too. We are cheering you on with the changes!
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I see what you mean about the difference in the contrast with the two designs. I put the two layouts together for comparison. I agree that this one is all about the contrast levels. Thank you for sharing the journey so we can watch the process too. We are cheering you on with the changes!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]620649[/ATTACH]
12-09-2019, 07:48 AM
#43
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Posts: 9,475
Beautiful quilt and gorgeous fabrics but I think you are getting fantastic ideas from members here and how nice of Iceblossom to make up a sampler block to show you. Aren't these members on this board wonderful??? When I see a pattern I like and I feel it is a little pricey I get out my graph paper and pencil and draw it out. Good luck to you.
12-15-2019, 08:17 AM
#45
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,067
I have the top re-put together and I am much happier, should be cutting the first round of borders today (the white with red dot, all along the outer edge) and making my final decisions in that regard. The hubby said in the beginning that he "liked the mistake better, I'm not just saying this to make you feel better, I really I like it better this way". But part of the way I judge my projects is does it meet my mental image, while the other way did make a usable quilt, it was not the way I saw it.
That's part of the point of this project, is how we can do things that change a project and make it ours. There isn't a single right way. But (workmanship being equal) the small decisions we make can make the difference between an award winning quilt and a meh quilt. I usually make a pretty good project and learn how to make it great during the process, but then I rarely go back.
With these fabrics, I didn't use the Cherry Blossom fabric to the best impact. The triangles are too small for the scale of the fabric. All I have left is about a 1" uneven strip of it, but I pieced together some bits to show a better use of it (I mentioned earlier).
As for the pieces of paper -- I don't have a design wall, I have a small house and do my layout on my bed. Over the years I've been amazed at the number of times and ways I can sew blocks together incorrectly. When I layout my quilts each block gets a number corresponding to the design grid, I go Alpha Across (A, B, C) and Numbers Down (1, 2, 3). From habit and use I put the markers in the top left quadrant of the block. Sometimes I put in jokes, like when I have a K9 block, I must use dog fabric! My son's birthday is 6/10 so sometimes I'll put in a reference to that had one earlier this year (ten blocks long is rare for me for some reason).
In this case, I wanted to keep the way I had geese blocks so those numbers stayed on. Then I took off the numbers of the solid blocks and the setting triangles and using notes I wrote on my worksheet, figured out which were now going where and replaced them before I took the top apart. I also wanted to keep in mind that the cherries are directional, not a tossed pattern and kept those going from top to bottom. I did re-layout the whole top and stared at it for a long time. If there is an issue, it is staying in at this point!
Even still, even with the labels it amazes me the times I'll put together the blocks on the wrong edges...
I'm working on the Bonnie Hunter Frolic mystery right now, but I'll need something else to work on at the same time. I've pulled a collection of very different fabrics and I'm going to up the scale and do another version of this, the Cherry Goose version was an 8" center block. It was designed as a 12" block and a square quilt but I like rectangular quilts so the next one will be a 10" block, that's a 5x2.5" goose unit and I'll be using the square in the center shape like shown in the picture instead of two geese. I'm also planning on making this "as designed" with the triangles on the ends of the blocks instead of the alternating squares. The one fabric I'd probably be happier fussy cutting into squares but it is certainly easier to make this square than set on diagonal. Still, the diagonal set wasn't a super big deal so I don't know. I will start out by making the what I'm still calling the goose units. I need to go into my stash, I'm hoping I have roughly a one yard piece of solid gray in there and then the other fabrics are washed and ready to go!
The advantages of this shape and using a square is for medium/larger scale fabric. You still get the points of the triangles in the background, and by having the solid edges you can design that into the fabric instead of having a point one way and a solid the other. Also, it makes it so layout isn't so important, yes the blocks will still twist to one way or another but they won't be pointing so much like the stacked geese units.
That's part of the point of this project, is how we can do things that change a project and make it ours. There isn't a single right way. But (workmanship being equal) the small decisions we make can make the difference between an award winning quilt and a meh quilt. I usually make a pretty good project and learn how to make it great during the process, but then I rarely go back.
With these fabrics, I didn't use the Cherry Blossom fabric to the best impact. The triangles are too small for the scale of the fabric. All I have left is about a 1" uneven strip of it, but I pieced together some bits to show a better use of it (I mentioned earlier).
As for the pieces of paper -- I don't have a design wall, I have a small house and do my layout on my bed. Over the years I've been amazed at the number of times and ways I can sew blocks together incorrectly. When I layout my quilts each block gets a number corresponding to the design grid, I go Alpha Across (A, B, C) and Numbers Down (1, 2, 3). From habit and use I put the markers in the top left quadrant of the block. Sometimes I put in jokes, like when I have a K9 block, I must use dog fabric! My son's birthday is 6/10 so sometimes I'll put in a reference to that had one earlier this year (ten blocks long is rare for me for some reason).
In this case, I wanted to keep the way I had geese blocks so those numbers stayed on. Then I took off the numbers of the solid blocks and the setting triangles and using notes I wrote on my worksheet, figured out which were now going where and replaced them before I took the top apart. I also wanted to keep in mind that the cherries are directional, not a tossed pattern and kept those going from top to bottom. I did re-layout the whole top and stared at it for a long time. If there is an issue, it is staying in at this point!
Even still, even with the labels it amazes me the times I'll put together the blocks on the wrong edges...
I'm working on the Bonnie Hunter Frolic mystery right now, but I'll need something else to work on at the same time. I've pulled a collection of very different fabrics and I'm going to up the scale and do another version of this, the Cherry Goose version was an 8" center block. It was designed as a 12" block and a square quilt but I like rectangular quilts so the next one will be a 10" block, that's a 5x2.5" goose unit and I'll be using the square in the center shape like shown in the picture instead of two geese. I'm also planning on making this "as designed" with the triangles on the ends of the blocks instead of the alternating squares. The one fabric I'd probably be happier fussy cutting into squares but it is certainly easier to make this square than set on diagonal. Still, the diagonal set wasn't a super big deal so I don't know. I will start out by making the what I'm still calling the goose units. I need to go into my stash, I'm hoping I have roughly a one yard piece of solid gray in there and then the other fabrics are washed and ready to go!
The advantages of this shape and using a square is for medium/larger scale fabric. You still get the points of the triangles in the background, and by having the solid edges you can design that into the fabric instead of having a point one way and a solid the other. Also, it makes it so layout isn't so important, yes the blocks will still twist to one way or another but they won't be pointing so much like the stacked geese units.
12-17-2019, 08:06 AM
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,067
Ok, may seem like a lot of effort for little result, but I'm much happier now that I've re-put together the top. I'm still considering border treatments, but I think I'm probably going to go with something like this picture.
I really like the way the original designer used some geese units in the borders. But I'm almost out of the red with white pin dot, I have just enough to make 4 sets of the goose units, I could put one set each side of two diagonal corners. I am totally out of the cherry blossom background fabric, I'd have to use solid black.
I have lots of the large scale cherry and the gingham left, should be enough for the back if I piece both together in addition to the border. I have just enough of the white with red dot to do the double row as shown, or I can do one row of it and make binding with the rest.
I really like the way the original designer used some geese units in the borders. But I'm almost out of the red with white pin dot, I have just enough to make 4 sets of the goose units, I could put one set each side of two diagonal corners. I am totally out of the cherry blossom background fabric, I'd have to use solid black.
I have lots of the large scale cherry and the gingham left, should be enough for the back if I piece both together in addition to the border. I have just enough of the white with red dot to do the double row as shown, or I can do one row of it and make binding with the rest.
04-09-2020, 07:58 AM
#47
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,067
Finished projects or at least tops, not sure when they will be quilted down. I liked the scale of the border on the Cherry Goose project shown above but the quilt was a bit small so I ended up with borders the same size as the squares. The Red pin dot in the upper corners is a different one than used in the quilt, the binding will be made of the same fabric as those corners it touches. Top ended at 68x92", so good for a twin, a bit narrow for a queen. The Goose units were 4" across -- as designed the Oasis project was 6" across.
The yellow and black version was a challenge to myself. I find it hard to appreciate much less use large scale prints, but I saw the yellow, black, and grey fabrics at the thrift store at a dollar a yard. I modified the goose units in the center into what I call the "candy kiss" as described in a previous post, and they are designed at 5" across. I only had exactly the amounts I bought -- 2 yards each of the large scale yellow and black, and one yard of each of the others. I didn't have enough for a border treatment but I did have enough for one more column of 6 blocks. I didn't like the way it looked with the squares because being even/4 across like originally designed and so turned the blocks into basically a super-large scale "Cracker" block, making the hourglass/QST shape instead. Finished size is 70x84". Will be bound with plain black binding.
I did have to label the blocks for/after layout, there is one each of 5 motifs going across the quilt and one extra block in each column going down.
The Minion fabric was what I found when I was going through my stash chanting to myself "black and white and grey and yellow" and was the only piece I had large enough that fit the design color conditions. At first I was resistant putting the Minions in with the large "adult" prints but told myself to go ahead -- they met the design criteria. The small triangles that are black I originally wanted grey that matched the background of the grey cherry blossom print, but although I had 3 grey pieces large enough none of them were the right shade. My original mental vision had much more grey and paler tones than what I ended up with, but I'm in the Seattle area and even though Joann is near by and still open, I'm supposed to be on lock down and was determined to use stash only.
I have one more of these in me -- an all scrappy version. Going to scale it down further to a 3" goose unit, making a 6" block which I will then alternate with QST units. Don't see me actually making that for at least a year.
The yellow and black version was a challenge to myself. I find it hard to appreciate much less use large scale prints, but I saw the yellow, black, and grey fabrics at the thrift store at a dollar a yard. I modified the goose units in the center into what I call the "candy kiss" as described in a previous post, and they are designed at 5" across. I only had exactly the amounts I bought -- 2 yards each of the large scale yellow and black, and one yard of each of the others. I didn't have enough for a border treatment but I did have enough for one more column of 6 blocks. I didn't like the way it looked with the squares because being even/4 across like originally designed and so turned the blocks into basically a super-large scale "Cracker" block, making the hourglass/QST shape instead. Finished size is 70x84". Will be bound with plain black binding.
I did have to label the blocks for/after layout, there is one each of 5 motifs going across the quilt and one extra block in each column going down.
The Minion fabric was what I found when I was going through my stash chanting to myself "black and white and grey and yellow" and was the only piece I had large enough that fit the design color conditions. At first I was resistant putting the Minions in with the large "adult" prints but told myself to go ahead -- they met the design criteria. The small triangles that are black I originally wanted grey that matched the background of the grey cherry blossom print, but although I had 3 grey pieces large enough none of them were the right shade. My original mental vision had much more grey and paler tones than what I ended up with, but I'm in the Seattle area and even though Joann is near by and still open, I'm supposed to be on lock down and was determined to use stash only.
I have one more of these in me -- an all scrappy version. Going to scale it down further to a 3" goose unit, making a 6" block which I will then alternate with QST units. Don't see me actually making that for at least a year.
04-09-2020, 04:44 PM
#48
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: S.E. Queensland, Australia
Posts: 1,460
The original link didn't work for me, and had to do much browsing to find this one. Also I had issues with measurements. So was very pleased to find this link also had the free pattern - if you scroll under the pic of the quilt. Looking closely at the photo I would also prefer to make the blocks as a square in a square with no set-in triangles.
Botanical Oasis / Geese In The Garden
Botanical Oasis / Geese In The Garden
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